


gift giving

by riftclosing



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: M/M, Necklace of the Kadan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-04
Updated: 2019-08-09
Packaged: 2020-04-07 12:28:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19085035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/riftclosing/pseuds/riftclosing
Summary: rhizz decides to give bull a rather important present





	1. 0

**Author's Note:**

> what the fuck am i doing
> 
> here's what my rhizzy boy looks like btw https://66.media.tumblr.com/00e8d7d3db6d2cc1b58b4dc77aacac26/tumblr_p9vpipmIDW1tbpvb4o2_1280.png

Qunari customs were so puzzling! Well, at least the one that Rhizz was mulling over was. A dragon’s tooth, truly? As far as he knew, the dragon resurgence was a recent phenomenon in Thedas. Maybe there were more off in... Qunandar, was it? No, no, Par Vollen? Yes, that was it. Maybe they had teeth stockpiled just in case a few lucky Qunari needed them? But Bull had said it was an old tradition. Maybe, in the years before the Dragon Age, there had been another custom to take its place? No, Bull would’ve told him about it. Or, maybe he was just pulling the first thing off the top of that bald head of his? Dragon fighting was probably a more exciting prospect than whatever had taken its place.

But still, it was a lot for a necklace. Albeit, an extremely important necklace, as far as the Qunari who made it were concerned.

As far as the Inquisitor himself was concerned.

Of course, his advisors had remarkable timing as always, and Leliana came to him with reports of a High Dragon in the Hinterlands just days after Rhizz had quizzed his “bodyguard” about the mysterious necklace. Whenever he sat down at his desk, looking over papers and writing letters, he’d glance towards the map which held the beasts location. It sat untouched in one corner of the desk. It just sat there, but so preoccupied his thoughts that he considered going to work in Josephine’s study. If she saw his eyes start to glaze over, he knew she’d get him back to work.

He wasn’t even sure why he was considering this. As far as he knew, Bull hadn’t made any hints about wanting their relationship to go any deeper than it was. And it wasn’t like Rhizz himself was any good at sensing that sort of thing. Twenty years in the Circle hadn’t exactly made him good at “examining” and “being open” about his “feelings”. Ah, those pesky “feelings”. Smushy little things that could, quite possibly, ruin one of the only good things that had come from the Inquisition. He surely didn’t want to risk that.

But after Adamant… He knew he needed to do something about those feelings, even if they ended up rejected. That panic he’d felt when Bull was almost felled by a demon. That was…

….  
….

ANYWAYS.

Lack of productivity, coupled with cabin fever (he’d been at Skyhold for about a month without leaving) made the Inquisitor’s mood sour. Fed up, he took a walk about his battlements, stopping only when he got to the training ground, where there was a bit of a commotion. When he leaned over to take a look, Bull and his Chargers were there, as expected, supposedly “training” with the dummies. It looked more like they were swinging them around and trying to hit each other with them. Bull, surprisingly, was not partaking in the activities, and simply watched off to the side, tankard in hand with an amused expression. Bull happened a glance towards Rhizz, giving the mage a grin and a nod. Rhizz lit up with one of the only genuine smiles he’d had in at least a week, and waved back very enthusiastically. He watched the group for a little longer before turning and walking towards the main hall.

Once inside and sitting comfortably at his desk, he tried very hard not to analyze why his mood seemed to lift as soon as he saw the qunari. He tried so very hard, but the lad couldn’t get any work done. He glared at the map before snatching it up, looking over it with a bit of a snarl.

Ah, fuck it. He could at least try, couldn’t he?

Minutes later, he slammed open the undercrofts’ doors, scaring its two occupants. “Harrit! We’ve got a situation!”


	2. 1

With the help of Dagna and Harrit, Rhizz had an all-new set of armor ready for each his chosen party members. Rhizz had even dipped into his own stores of bloodstone and serpentstone (even if he did whine about it) to make sure it was made of the strongest stuff they had. He was throwing his friends at a dragon, after all.

He approached Blackwall and Cassandra separately from Bull, telling them what they were doing and making sure to remind them not to tell their fellow warrior what was up. Since the Iron Bull’s fascination with dragons was well known at that point, the two swallowed the half-lie that the outing was simply a surprise quite easily.

Rhizz didn’t tell Bull himself until the morning they were set to leave for Ferelden, whether from fear that Bull would work it out given time or fear that he’d slip up, he couldn’t say.

“Knock knock! I’m coming in!” Rhizz didn’t wait for a reply, opening the unlocked door (he kept telling Bull to lock it) and letting the servants behind him come in. They set the armor in a corner of Bull’s room before scurrying off to fulfill other duties. Bull did not move throughout the process, electing to remain eagle-spread on his belly and ignore the Inquisitor and his entourage. Once he’d thanked the servants and they’d left on their way, Rhizz walked up to the bed and thwacked Bull on the head with his new staff.

Bull growled, finally looking up to face Rhizz while caressing his new sore spot. “I ought to tan your hide for that.”

Rhizz, very purposefully ignoring the tone of Bull’s voice, only laughed. “Hey, don’t be like that. We’re going out! I’m sure you’re as tired of being cooped up in here as I am.” He took the opportunity to take a seat on the bed.

“Couldn’t you have told me earlier.” Making no attempt to get up, Bull just turned his head slightly towards the mage.

“Just get up! It’s going to be fun. I’ve even got you some new armor.” Rhizz gestured at the fresh armor set, tinted with dawnstone. The color was a bribe, and from the look on Bull’s face, he was about to take it.

Finally, the man sighed. “Alright. Where are we going?”

“The glorious Ferelden Hinterlands, of course.” The Iron Bull groaned. Rhizz understood the feeling but snorted. “I tell you, the problems there won’t ever stop.”

“Don’t need to tell me twice, boss.”

Rhizz didn’t know when his hand had crept up to stroke the base of Bull’s horns, but it had, and it apparently didn’t bother Bull too much, seeing as he was sighing contentedly. The Inquisitor allowed himself a few more minutes, simply sitting there quietly, before reluctantly pulling away and standing up.

“Well, we best go going. I’m sure Cassandra and Blackwall are almost done. I expect you at the gate in the next thirty minutes!” Bull groaned but sat up anyways. When he finally closed the door, he let out a deep sigh of relief, thankful that he hadn’t acted too unnatural during the exchange.

××

The trip to the Hinterlands was rather uneventful. The Inquisitor and his party of three warriors got to the camp outside of the Dragon’s den within a few days, thanks to a new route that Harding had found, which decreased their travel time by half.

“Okay, so each of you will have one regular healing potion and five regeneration potions. Bull also has healing mist in case we need it. Since you two-” He pointed towards Bull and Blackwall “-tend to guzzle potions down like they’re little cakes, and I’ll be on the front lines for once, I’ll be keeping the other nine on my person. I will pass them off if you aren’t doing well, of course, but try to exhaust those before turning to me.”

Cassandra spoke up when it seemed Rhizz was done. “Inquisitor, if I may ask, what is that on your hilt? And you don’t seem to have your staff.”

“Oh, it’s some new weapon. You know, Auntie-... eh, Lady Vivienne uses her spirit blade. This functions the same way, but it is less precise and requires much less focus on my part.”

“Are you sure it is wise to be using this for-” Cassandra glanced over to Iron Bull, unsure if they were still keeping it a secret. “... fighting? Especially since you’ve yet to have outside practice with it.”

“It’ll be fine. I’ve practiced using it quite a few times already. It’s kind of like a staff, just a little heavier. And I’ll be… a little closer.” Cassandra did not look convinced but did not question further. When Rhizz saw that Bull was giving him A Look, he simply rolled his eyes and pressed on.

“I’m not quite sure you’ll like this, Blackwall. As old as you are, this might be a challenge.” Blackwall chortled, as he always did when Rhizz joked at him.

He led them off into an area off the camp, down a slight hill, and into an area thick with smoke and the smell of burning. Bull perked up significantly, taking a deep whiff of the area.

“Smells like dragon territory… Oh, shit! This is going to be GOOD!” Rhizz couldn’t help but grin at his lover’s (that word still felt weird) enthusiasm, and he had the group take a sharp left, keeping them on the walls of the cavern. He knew the dragon’s babies would be stalking about, but they needed all the energy they could conserve to fight the mother.

“SHE’S TAKING OFF!” Rhizz’s head swiveled to where Bull was pointing. The Ferelden Frostback, now aware of the group's presence, had taken flight, screaming angrily as she circled overhead. It took a great deal of care for the party to avoid her blasts of fire, as well as the little ones who were now looking for whatever had irritated their mother.

Books and stories always talked about dragon fights like they were the absolute pinnacle of heroism. The protagonists would skillfully avoid teeth, claws, and slay the dragon without even smudging their eyeliner. In reality, fighting the dragon was not fun on the slightest, especially with Rhizz having to use a brand new staff. His hair was a tangled mess after the first 10 minutes. He kept forgetting to place the barrier on himself as well since he wasn’t used to being so close. After getting singed about five times, he stopped forgetting.

About an hour in, the beast had finally fallen onto one of its sides. The party was revitalized significantly, feeling as if they were getting closer. Well, everyone but Rhizz. He just wasn’t used to expending so much physical energy when fighting. He was more used to being mentally drained. Circles didn’t care much for physical fitness, and although he’d built muscle since he joined the Inquisition, his stamina was well below his friends’.

Maker, it sucked. There was just so much fire, everything burned and it was hard to breathe. Every time the dragon knocked him over, it felt like his lungs were emptied, and Maker above, having to get back up afterward. He barely had the energy to shot call once she flew onto an inaccessible ledge. All he could do was try to focus on the flying beast with cold blasts while the others killed the dragonlings around.

“Inquisitor, look out!” Cassandra had called, too late or too early, no one could tell, because in seconds the Inquisitor had taken a blast directly to the left side of his face and fell onto the ground, screaming. Cassandra quickly cut down the dragonling that caused it whilst Blackwall ran to the fallen Inquisitor’s side. In a surprising display of anger, Bull landed a rather aggressive blow on the mother, which was enough to make her knees buckle and fall with another deafening screech. Cassandra and Bull landed a few more blows before she finally rose up and took flight once more, knocking the pair off their feet. However, their attention turned to the Inquisitor, who was finally standing up and gripping the left side of his face with his marked hand. It crackled, irritating the burn further. He could swear there was blood seeping through his gloves.

“Rhizz are you-”

“I’m fine, it’s fine just- Fuck! Just follow her!” He pointed his staff towards the flat area the dragon had flown off too, likely trying to get away from them and recuperate. Blackwall quickly took point and Bull followed, more out of habit from taking orders than really wanting to.  
“Stupid pushy mages and stupid asshole dragonlings.”

Rhizz remained in the back from then on, focusing on barriers and healing magic instead of fighting up close like he had been. The staff stayed attached to his hip as he instead used his spellbook as a focus (which he should have used in the first place). Even if he wanted to continue to use the staff, his left eye was basically forced shut by the fire blast and blood. Occasionally, his companions gave him enough leeway to pass a healing spell over his skin, which was hurting more and more as time dragged on. The beast's legs were starting to look like a bloody, gory mess. Similar, he thought, to what his face must have looked.

He didn’t even get to express joy over the death of the great beast before the trio of warriors surrounded him. While Cassandra examined the burn, Bull and Blackwall started to make some elfroot salve.

“Guys, really, I’m fine-”

“Stop talking,” Bull grunted, finishing up the salve and passing it over to Cassandra.

“What were you thinking, using something you never tried before when fighting a dragon?!” Rhizz was feeling a tad shocked, not expecting to be lectured at all. He flinched when the salve hit a particularly sore spot, and he started to tear up. Well, with his right eye, at least. The left gave an honest effort and it burned. Bull took the salve from Cassandra to apply it on his own and carefully avoided putting too much pressure on it..

“I’ll be fine, Bull. Only thing I’m worried about is the eye. The eyepatch looks good on you, but I’m not sure I could pull it off.” The joke was flat, said through gritted teeth while he gripped his own thighs.

Bull only snorted. “I’m not really finding this funny, Boss.”

Rhizz felt himself getting angry, not in the mood for a lecture while he bled out. “The dragon’s dead and all I need is some healing salve. It's an easy fix.”

Bull wasn’t done, though. “You were being reckless. The reason you were so tired is because you weren’t used to that stupid thing.”

“You’re calling me reckless?! You throw yourself headfirst into the thickest of a battle on the daily! Even when I tell you to stay close!”

“I go in knowing that I’m physically able to deal with a bunch of fucking squishy humans. That was a dragon, Rhizz. And you may have gotten stronger but you’re still a mage.”

Rhizz scoffed, increasingly irritated by the whole thing. Also, his face was hurting something fierce. “I’m alive-”

“But you could not be! And it would’ve been completely preventable!”

Rhizz would have said something else, had he not heard a shuffling nearby. Blackwall and Cassandra, Maker bless them, ended up walking away to examine the corpse for loot, leaving Bull and Rhizz alone. When the yelling stopped, they both quickly glanced over at the pair. It occurred to Rhizz that they were witnessing a lover’s quarrel without knowing that the ones quarreling were lovers.

After Bull finished wrapping his face, he stood and turned away. Rhizz remained on the ground, pointedly looking away.

“I’m… I’m sorry, Bull.”

The tension in Bull’s shoulders relaxed. “I'm sorry too, Boss. I just… get worried.”

“You are quite the mother hen.” They both chuckled, although they sounded tired. “Can we… talk about this later? In private?”

“Of course.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> rhizzy + burn cause that shit sticks lol https://66.media.tumblr.com/f50bec5509ed25c22b1d2dc074223118/tumblr_po4r452K1K1tbpvb4o2_1280.png  
> chap. 3 should be up soon its already written but im not done editing and im so fucking tired


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bro i accidentally sipped a bit of isopropyl alcohol instead of my lemonade bc i was not paying attention

Since his friends were worried that the burn would become infected, they ended up going straight back to Skyhold. Bull refused to leave his side the entire trip back. He wouldn't even let the others apply the healing salve. The trip took a day without stopping, Bull hovering around him the entire time.

 

Upon arrival at Skyhold, Rhizz was whisked away to be examined by proper healers. It was quickly determined that his eye was safe, a small blessing, but there was going to be permanent scarring. His friend’s preparation and his own healing ability had avoided the worst possible damage.

 

Still, he found himself inspecting the angry red mark on his face once the healers finally released him from their clutches. As he poked his face, he thanked the Maker for magic, knowing a burn like that could have taken much longer to heal properly. Hopefully, the Orlesians would find the scar attractive instead of off-putting... or would at least find the story of the dragon fight amusing.

 

A few hours later, Rhizz walked the grounds of Skyhold, an uneasy smile on his face. Skyhold would soon be abuzz with gossip about his burn. He wasn’t sure if the idea was terrifying or cool. He could think of worse ways to have gotten marked up. A few of the bolder residents asked him directly, and he was happy to dispel the rumor that he’d burned himself by playing with fire magic.

 

When he walked into the Herald’s Rest, Sera was on him in a second, admonishing him for being “a stupid dumb shite” who did “really crazy things”. She was glad his eye was okay and gave him a cookie. It wasn’t good, but the flavor has improved from the last time. Krem made a joke about Rhizz “finally losing that baby face”

 

Bull, of course, was already drinking and offered Rhizz a tankard of something that smelled especially foul, even for the things he normally drank. And it somehow tasted like it smelled, which was delightful.

 

After that, most things just mixed and melded together. He was talking to Bull about… the dragon? Qunari were dragon people or something. Bull might have jacked off after the dragon fight, but that wasn’t too surprising.

 

Kadan? Funny word. He’d ask Bull what it meant later… if he remembered later, anyways.

 

Rhizz later woke up in his bed, no recollection of how he got there, but he was in pajamas and covered with blankets, so he hadn’t come in by himself. He found that his head wasn’t hurting too badly, despite whatever that muhr-ass whatever had done to him in only a few sips. Bull had probably made sure he ate something while in the tavern.

 

On his nightstand sat a pitcher of water along with raisin muffins and some thin broth. Ah, a classic Trevelyan hangover cure, passed down through generations. He reminded himself to thank Cole as he ate, not minding the crumbs that fell down onto his sheets. Meal consumed, he walked over to his desk to look over his reports. In addition to his normal reports, there sat a box, attached to it a note from Leliana. He carefully opened the box, inspecting the necklace, and wished he were still drunk.

 

Rhizz found himself in the Herald’s Rest a few hours later, after the worst of his hangover passed. His palms were sweating as he walked up to Bull, his smile not feeling completely natural as the Qunari waved him over.

 

“Boss! You’re looking good. I’m assuming you found your hangover snack?”

 

“I-What? That was you? I had assumed that was Cole…” He allowed himself to trail off, eyebrow raised.

 

“Well, yeah, it normally is. I asked him to tell me after the last time... Wanted to try and help.”

 

Bull looked a bit unsure of himself as he said it. It was such a small thing that made Rhizz feel warm all over (embarrassing). Hawke hadn’t shown nearly that much care when they’d been together in Kirkwall (a long story for another day) and certainly no templar or sister in the Circle had cared enough to help him with a headache. His resolve strengthened, he clutched the package hidden behind his back and fixed Bull with a smile, more genuine this time.

 

“I’ve got something for you.”

 

“Really? Well, I think I’ve got something for you, too. Come on, I’ll go first.”

 

××

 

Bull, indeed, had something for Rhizz, which he showed him almost as soon as they disappeared into his room. The box Rhizz had brought was forgotten under the bed for a sufficient amount of time while the pair explored Bull’s present.

 

As he laced up his boots, Rhizz was surprised to find that he was significantly less winded than when he and Bull had started... whatever it was they were doing. At least, he hadn’t passed out immediately afterward recently. Bull’s hand lightly touched the side of his face, and Rhizz easily leaned into the show of affection, making a happy noise in the back of his throat while Bull stroked his face.

 

“There we are. No Inquisition, no war. Just you and me. So, what’d you want to talk about?”

 

Rhizz took a deep breath, his heart hammering against his ribs. Before he could speak, of course, because both Andraste and the Maker found it funny to torture him at every turn, Cullen walked in holding a report head tilted down as he continued to read it. Sadly for him, Bull’s leg was propped up in such a way that Cullen received an eyeful of his assets when he finally looked up. He screamed.

 

“Enjoying the view?” Bull’s voice was calm.

 

“I-I’m so sorry.”

 

Rhizz sucked some air through his teeth. “It’s fine, but can you just-”

 

It was then that the door opened again, exposing a frazzled Josephine to much more than she needed to see. It wasn’t until Cassandra walked in that Rhizz truly lost all hope for secrecy. There he was, shirt half-buttoned, with marked sucked into his neck and chest, right next to a naked Bull, in front of the most unsubtle member of the Inquisition. It was a really fantastic circumstance and he was sure the Maker’s Bride was having quite a lovely time laughing at her herald.

 

He wasn’t particularly interested in talking with any of them. After affirming that  _ yes, Bull and I are together, and yes, I plan to keep getting screwed for as long as possible _ , the trio of intruders finally left the premises. Rhizz slammed the door shut behind them and stumbled to the bed, more tired than he had been five minutes previous.

 

Bull sighed as Rhizz sat down next to him on the bed. “You alright, boss?” The man only snorted.

 

“Much better now that they aren’t here ogling at us. Really, I thought Josephine was going to burn a hole right through your-... But yeah, I’m alright. You?”

 

Bull’s lips turned upwards in a little smile and he shook his head, the way he always did when Rhizz said something ridiculous. It had no right to get Rhizz’s heart pumping the way it did, but it wasn’t like his heart had listened to him before.

 

“But, since we have a moment…” Rhizz said, reaching down under the bed to pull out the box. He hated how his voice trembled and lacked his usual bravado and he held it out to Bull.

 

“What’s that?” The mage refused to look at Bull as he opened the box to brandish its contents, holding the necklace in his hands while staring pointedly at his lap.

 

“A dragon’s tooth, split in two.” his hands were trembling something fierce. “S… So no matter how far apart life takes us, we’re always together.” He finally found the courage to meet Bull’s eyes. The Qunari looked genuinely shocked, and it was enough for Rhizz’s mind to go wild with rejection fantasies.

 

_ What if I got this stupid burn on my face for  _ **_nothing_ ** _? _

 

“It’s not often people surprise me, Kadan.” Bull whispered, tone soft as he cupped Rhizz’s cheek. It made Rhizz immediately relax. He wasn't getting rejected. He pressed his hand to Bull's and tried to force down the tears. His voice wobbled as he spoke.

 

“Kadan?”

 

“My heart.”

 

Rhizz couldn’t help the tears that spilled then. He weakly slapped at Bull’s chest, unable to speak, as he was lowered back down onto the sheets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading :)


End file.
